Family of Texas boy, 4, who drowned in floods reveal the harrowing hours before he was swept away

The family of a boy who drowned after being swept away by rough floodwaters in Texas last week have shared his final moments. 

Lucas Warren, 4, drowned on May 5 when the car he was riding in with his parents was washed away by floodwater. 

The boy's mother and father survived, but the current surged and ripped the three apart. 

Now, their relatives have revealed how the three became separated while on their way home from a family party. 

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Lucas Warren, 4, drowned May 5 when the car he was riding in with his parents, Chelsey and Aaron Warren, was washed away by floodwater

The current completely submerged the family's car in Burleson on May 5 - a search was enacted into the next morning. The three had been driving Lucas home from a relative's house, when they were met with the rising water. They took the risk of moving forward - a decision they regret

They had watched other cars drive through the water and thought they could do the same, but became stuck. 

'I can't even fathom what they're having to deal with,' she told Fox 4 on Tuesday. 'They're family. We're just hoping this raises enough money to help with their medical bills and funeral.'

'Pretty quickly, Aaron got swept away. He dropped Lucas,' Warren Marshall recalled.

'Chelsey picked him up. And then from that moment on, they were separated.'

Marshall added that her sister-in-law desperately held onto Lucas for a couple hours while treading water, but he was soon swept away.

'If you get into a situation like that, just turn around,' she warned, recalling the fatal incident along County Road 528 in Burleson. 

'The best thing you can do from our tragedy is just learn something and learn that no matter how it looks or what you think the situation is, that you just don't know. 

'You can't know what's gonna happen.'

The statement from Chelsey and Aaron Warren, offered to Fox 4 News, comes as the boy's father just got out of the hospital. 

Tuesday's benefit was held to raise money for hospital bills and funeral services, for a boy remembered as his family's joy.

A restaurant where Aaron served as the venue, and organizers were able to raise more than $13,000. 

She also raised thousands of dollars through a raffle, in hopes it will make a difference

'If you get into a situation like that, just turn around,' they warned in the wake of the incident. 'The best thing you can do from our tragedy is just learn something and learn that no matter how it looks or what you think... that you just don't know. You can't know what's gonna happen'

Lucas's parents attended the fundraiser, but asked not to be interviewed. Dozens of others were there to show support

'I can't even fathom what they're having to deal with,' she told Fox 4 Tuesday. 'They're family. We're just hoping this raises enough money to help with their medical bills and funeral' 

Johnson County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy James Saulter's force is still investigating the incident, some of which was caught on camera

'They'd seen cars go through,' the boy's aunt said of the family, days after Lucas's mother said  she and her husband were familiar with County Road 528, which is prone to flooding

She said officials normally close it off when water levels become too high, but, in this case, the family's vehicle did not make it through, swept into the stream seen here

She said it began when her brother and sister-in-law were driving the boy home from an unnamed relative's house, and were met with rising water along the road in the Forth Worth suburb

'Pretty quickly, Aaron got swept away. He dropped Lucas,' Warren Marshall recalled. 'Chelsey picked him up. And then from that moment on, they were separated'

Marshall added that her sister-in-law desperately held onto Lucas for a couple hours while treading water, but he was soon swept away

Footage from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office from the day in question substantiated the harrowing account, which was extrapolated on by the boy's mother in an emotional interview with NBC 5 

She tearfully told the station of the moment she lost her son: 'The current came up real high and he just let go'

Footage from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office from the day of the flooding substantiated the harrowing account by the boy's mother in an emotional interview with NBC 5.

She tearfully told the station of the moment she lost her son, 'The current came up real high and he just let go,

 'I didn't hear anything from him, I think he just went under.' 

She added how she and her husband - still hospitalized at this point - had been familiar with the well-traveled road, seen flooded in the disturbing footage that shows cops frantically searching for the youngster.

'Usually, there's a block in the road that says don't pass through there or has a sign that says flooding water, please turn around, and there was nothing,' she said of how officials normally close it off when water levels become too high.

 'I had saw somebody else had gone through.'

As they tried to get their vehicle through the water, the car cut out, she said - leaving them trapped.

She added that they tried to escape on foot, but were soon swept off the road, after which her husband became separated from them.

She proceeded to  tread water while desperately holding on to Lucas for more than an hour, until the current took over.

Chelsey said Johnson County rescuers arrived in a boat minutes later, the point where the footage begins. 

Chelsey said Johnson County rescuers arrived in a boat minutes later, the point where the bodycam footage begins 

'This is something that you don't ever think is going to happen to your family,' her sister-in-law said on Sunday, as Johnson County Sheriffs continues to probe how the incident unfolded

'This is something that you don't ever think is going to happen to your family,' her sister-in-law said on Sunday, as the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office continues to probe exactly how the incident unfolded. 

'He was one of the happiest, funniest kids I've ever met in my life,' she said of Lucas.

'I know that they wished more than anything that they had turned around, and they just didn't know.

'Truly, I can’t tell you how much he was loved.'